who wants to start? lauren? >> i'll start. >> she raises her hand. i like that. >> i have to tell you the most riveting moment of the morning was listening to jeremy bush, the brother who tried to save jeff bush, from the sinkhole in brandon, florida. that emotion, to see him sobbing over this. i mean, you're in your bedroom and you start sinking into the ground. your bedroom is the sacred space and to just wash the anguish that he went through. >> when he described grabbing a shovel to try to save his brother. >> you can't do anything to help your brother. awful. >> they can't get in there now because it's so unsafe. the ground is so insecure they can't rescuers to go in there to try to help get him out or bring his body out. they think he did not survive. >> it was terrible to watch. the disaster in washington, the sequester, i know it's bad for rating, not supposed to use that word. >> spending cuts. >> it seems like this has gone

on forever and the fact that it's not going to be a dramatic impact today, tomorrow, or next week will undercut the argues and make the process -- the world is coming to an end but it's going to hurt. >> i'm sorry. the congress is just looking so bad on this. they went home! >> they are not only ones. the white house has got some tough decisions to make. do they talk down the economy? do they point out all of the things that are going wrong? or do they try to fix them? fix the damage that is robbed by these budget cuts the next three weeks. a tough situation. >> the good news is we have monday to talk about it all again. >> and tuesday and wednesday. >> and the following week. . coming up monday on "starting point" is comedian bill cosby. >> really? >> yeah, that is going to be crazy. >> "cnn newsroom" starts right

now with carol costello. see you back here on monday. >> happening now in the newsroom. >> are you on your way home? i assume you're going home to new york? >> skipping town. as america faces a midnight deadline on spending cuts, our lawmakers run for the exits. also breaking overnight. a sinkhole 100 feet wide opens up under a man's bedroom! plus, joan. >> there are people who say you should apologize. >> for what? >> the holocaust joke no one is laughing at. >> it's a joke. it's the way i remind people about the holocaust. i do it through humor. >> has joan rivers gone too far this time? cnn is one-on-one with joan rivers. this. shaking to new heights. the harlem shake at 30,000 feet. one pilot we talked to saying it's a plane, people!

not a dance hall! now the faa is investigating. let's get shakin'! we're live in the cnn! "cnn newsroom." good morning. i'm carol costello. we start this morning with a nightmare story out of brandon, florida. 37-year-old jeff bush is now presumed dead after being swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up underneath a bedroom in his home. engineers lowered monitoring equipment into the sinkhole. unfortunately, they detected no signs of life. now the house appears fine but police it could come down at any moment. bush's brother jeremy broke down as he talked with rob munoz from cnn affiliate wfts. >> i heard a loud crash like a car coming through the house. i heard my brother screaming. so i ran back there.

tried going inside his room but my old lady turned the light on and all i seen was this big hole, real big hole and all i seen was his mattress and basically that was it. that's all i seen. >> reporter: you tried jumping in after him? >> yes, i jumped in the hole and was trying to dig him out. i couldn't find him! i thought i could hear him holler for me to help him. >> reporter: and that is the last you saw of him. did you see any last part of him before -- >> i didn't see any part of him when i went in there. all i seen was his bed. i told my father-in-law to grab a shovel so i could start digging. i started digging and started digging and started digging. the cop showed up and pulled me out of the hole and told me the floor was still falling in. >> reporter: so you were still at risk as well and now your entire family is out here in support. why are you guys out here in support? >> just to keep closure, i guess. make sure he's not dead and see if he is alive.

i know in my heart, he's dead, but i just want to be here for him because i loved him because it was my brother, man! >> five other people escaped including jeremy from that home, including a 2-year-old child. we are awaiting more information from the hillsborough county fire department. they are holding a news conference later this morning. if we get any more information about this story, we will pass it along to you. now to washington. few things are ever a given but we do know this. next hour, president obama meets with congressional leaders it won't matter. they won't be able to stave off those forced spending cuts, because the only people who have the power to stop them have fled town! dana bash explains. >> reporter: lawmakers racing down the capital steps bolting out of town for a long weekend. this was before noon.

a full day before the hammer comes down on forced budget cuts they voted for. is there a concern that you all are going to leave town while these cuts kick in and you won't even be here? >> well, speaker and the leadership will be here and i'm a quick flight away. i go home every weekend to see my family. >> reporter: you're on your way out. are you on your way home? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: so you're not going to be here in town when these cuts kick in? >> if they call me, back i'll be back. >> reporter: what do you think about the idea congress and you guys won't be here when the cuts kick in sfl you got to be to the airport? okay. >> john king joins us with the political back and forth. christine romans looks at the time frame when each of us will actually feel the impact of those spending cuts. first we want to touch base with shawn spicer, the communications director for the republican national committee. good morning, shawn. >> good morning, carol. >> okay. okay.

so americans are really frustrated with washington. they are not each paying much attention to this. still, with republicans controlling the house of representatives, isn't that image of lawmakers fleeing washington a pr debacle? >> i think it would be had the house not already passed twice a bill to replace the sequester. >> come o shawn, it would snb it would be? >> carol, look. here is the thing. schoolhouse rock lays it out. the constitution says the congress has two branches of government that have to come together. the house twice passed a bill that said let's replace the sequester with more acceptable cuts to make sure we get control of the spending but do so in a more responsible way. the senate has failed to act. at some point you can't dance alone. you have to have a partner. the president and the democratic controlled senate haven't done

anything. >> doesn't the blame game get tiresome? that's not what american voters -- >> it did. hey! carol, i absolutely share the frustration of the american people. i think what asking is spot on. but i think, at some point, when the house twice passes a bill and nobody takes it up, we can't go to conference with ourselves as republicans. that doesn't work. we pass a bill in the house which they did twice. then the senate has done nothing. >> the house probably knows it goes nowhere. . won't pass the democratic controlled senate and weaned be signed by the president, so why bother? >> right. the way the body works one body passes their and the other body passes there area they go to conference and that is the law, the constitution. the they have done their job and senate passed their version. they get together and say let's figure out how to get a conference bill done. they cannot conference with themselves. until the senate puts something on the table, there's nothing to discuss. and i understand the frustration

of the american people are saying, how is this happening some but when one person does their job, if the producer of a network puts the show together and the anchor doesn't sit down to air it, you can't blame the producer for the fact that it didn't get on the air. so, i mean -- >> except we get on the air every day. i just -- okay. >> right. and i think if the senate did their job, we would have an answer. >> let's look into the future. >> what? >> the spending cuts will probably go into effect 11:59:59 tonight. right? what do you think will happen next? >> correct. well, i think first of all, we are going to see -- it depends. because we are talking about 2.3% of a 3.7 trillion dollar budget. i think most americans the last several years this economy has been tough have had to tighten their belts and looking at the government say you are kidding me. you increased spending 14% the last three years and can't find 2 cents to 2 iii cents of every

dollar you spend in if people do this right there might be inconveniences but plenty of money in washington to make this happen in a more responsible way. i think the senate said let's let the president have flexibility in how to spend it. the washington doesn't have a spending or revenue problem. if we want to get serious and tackle the problems americans have we look and say, okay. where can we cut and where can we cut? where is the waste? let's get serious instead of running around and having a little gimmick. >> sean spicer, thank you for joining us. the democrats view, we will have that next hour. we will talk to debber wassermann schultz. blame and bluster and brinksmanship. the killer bees are alive in washington. here with us is our national correspondent john king. hi, john. >> good morning, carol. i wish serious behind the scenes

maneuvering but it's serious behind the scenes posturing. >> exactly. the senate is meeting with the president later this morning. no deal is expected. what are they going to do? sit around and look at each other? >> largely probably sit around and look at each other. mitch mcconnoll issued a statement before the meeting saying he expects the president to ask for tax increases in this meeting and say no last minute back room deal and no tax increases. you might be saying why have the meeting? sean spicer made an important point. that is the way government used to work. he is right. that is the way government is supposed to work but both parties are responsible for the total dysfunction. 16 years since the house and senate passed a budget and went to a comrchs committee. he is right about schoolhouse rocks but unfortunately our own members of congress and both parties lost track how they are supposed to do their job so they don't do conference committees any more. wonderful if we could get back to that world but not where we are and both parties are to

blame. look. as we we have this conversation on a friday morning we wasted last week. republicans making their case and president making his case separately. not talking to each other. the president only called this meeting hours before the deadline. as soon as the meeting is over the president will within a couple of hours sign the paper work necessary to implement these cuts and see what happens in the next 72 hours and pick this up next week sometime. as americans are frustrated with this, this week was wasted and largely they are all to blame. >> john king, thanks so much. okay. so with the time running out, no deal in sight, every federal agency must now prepare for those forced spending cuts. federal workers could be critically affected. check out this memo from the office of budget. agencies should identify the number of employees who should be furloughed and length of expected furloughs and timing when the furlough notices should be issued and when they will be

ghinte administered. christine romans is here with us. >> the english language is bad. >> reporter: take us what will happen at 11:59:59 when the forced public cuts will probably go into effect. >> this is something that will play out over months. you have to make the asums no back door deal that happens or some kind of retroactive fix to this. starting march 1st, you'll see those furlough notices go out. you have to give warning. that can start starting today. we do know the irs said they will not furlough workers until after the tax season and won't affect your tax refund or tax filing. maybe the furloughs take effect on the 26th. the multiplier effect of government spending and government jobs is pretty big, right? you got people maybe still have their job and not work one day a week at whatever department they work for but they won't buy a truck or a new house. concern how unprescribingable

that will be like. the 27th another manufactured washington crisis when government funding runs out, right? and then talking about potential government shutdown. you have crisis after crisis and process in washington that is just ugly and dysfunctional. it is not schoolhouse rock. we will feel it. i'm not saying it's going to be doom's day tomorrow. the stock market is near record highs. what wall street is telling us they think there is some kind of retroactive fix or or think it's not going to hurt business so bad but it will hurt people. >> because wall street is ignoring the government now. >> you have woutwo worlds. trying to get people to spend money. two totally different tracks going on. >> christine romans, thanks so much. >> you're welcome. >> with the back and forth you're wondering exactly how those forced spending cuts will affect you, where you live. coming up the next hour of newsroom, tom foreman will answer all of those kind of

questions if you want to know how the spending questions will affect you go to twitter.com/tomforemancnn. dennis rodman is expected to leave north korea later today but the former nba star did take time to enjoy basketball with the north korean leader kim jong-un. the two sat together at a harlem globetrotter's game. kim jong-un at one point told rodman you are a friend for life. the harlem shake now has the aengs of t aengs of t attention of the faa. this was taped last night on frontier airlines. the faa is looking into the incident saying it's trying to determine the circumstances of the videotaping and if it affected flight safety. the world watch as pope

benedict left the vatican the final time yesterday and it appears steven colbert was watching as well. >> folks the world is now in uncharted theological unchartered territory because as of 8:00 p.m. central vatican time, we are officially popeless! yes. we have been disimpopenatet. we have undergone a popenectomy. pope goes the weasel. during his last day, the artist formerly known as pope tendered his resignation and as with all departing popes, he raised his investments to the rafters. >> i know pope benedict is laughing. he does have a sense of humor. the pope actually will spend the rest of his life out of the public life in a mondastery

inside the vatican walls. we will talk with an administration dean at a top university who says gpas are meaningless. transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. she can't always move the way she wants. now you can. with stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body while thermocontrol wicks moisture away. keep moving. stayfree.

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18 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. a wildfire burning dangerously close to homes in southern california and scorched 150 acres in riverside county near los angeles. authorities have issued voluntary evacuation orders. one structure has been damaged but no injuries reported. the cause of the fire is still under investigation. a space x rocket lifts off from cape canaveral, florida with something unique in its cargo hold. mtv reports the group 30 seconds to mars has put in the first copy of its new single. song's title is appropriately "up in the air." 12,000 tons of experiment is on 'cha capsule and heading to the international space station. general motors hoping to make some green in the process and thinking green. reported that gm will increase production of the chevy volt and other plug-in cars by 20% this

year. the chevy volt had big sales gains last year, while the new cadillac elr could boost plug-in profits with its higher sticker price. parents, get ready to be confused. even more confused what it takes to get your kid into college. vick dick torians and 4.0 gpa? may not matter. putting an all-nighter getting that a plus? get some sleep! it may not help you. joining me is the university of virginia dean. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the gpa. is it now meaningless? why? >> carol, that's a confusing issue for families and parents. there's a big difference between a gpa and the grades. schools are very interested in the grades. they are very interested in the student's performance in the classroom. we are very interested in the transcript and the rigor of their courses. a gpa on the other hand, is a calculation made by the high

school. the problem is the calculations lack consistency from one high school to the next. so that a number that is provided, this gpa number could mean something completely different from one high school to another even within the same community. >> give me an example of that. are you talking about grade inflation? are you talking about in the top high schools in the country the grade point average may be incredibly high because they have great teachers and it may be in a public school or in a rural area? what exactly are you talking about? >> many variables. you might have a student who goes to a high school where there is significant grade inflation and at that school, the grading scale my be 90 to a hundred for an a. at that school, they give weight, significant weight for advanced courses. maybe an initial 0.5 or 1 to every grade made in an honors course or an advanced course. at the school down the street, have you a tighter grading

school and limited grade inflati inflation. when you look at that 4.1 gpa that the student submits a 4.1 could be the top student at school a but school b, it could put the student in the 40th percentile in their class. there is not a standard calculation or an equation that schools use and there is hundreds of thousands of high schools around the country so it causes a bit of confusion for the admission offices looking at purely at the gpa number. >> i'm confused myself. if you don't take great point average into consideration, although you kind of do, what is the most important thing that a kid must do to get into uva, for example? >> well, we do. we look at the grades. the grades and the courses. i would argue that that forms the backbone of the application. the student's performance in high school, in their courses, in their rigorous courses really give us the best indicator of college success, so that transcript we are talking about is extremely important. the concept of a gpa, a single

number that is provided by a high school is what is confusing to students. >> what about the -- >> so you can't compare one to the next. >> is your s.a.t. or ac.t. score more important than the grade point average you get in high school? >> no the grades are. the grades reflect a four-year body of work where the s.a.t. is an exam on the weekend. we look at the different components of the application. their essays could be very important, their recommendations. their extra curricular involvement and what the transcript says about themselves. we are trying to get a glimpse of the student's life and learn more about what interests them and what type of credentials they bring to the university. >> many parents are listening to you with, you know, attention. thank you, greg roberts, from the university of virginia, dean admissions. this is our talkback

question today. we want you to weigh in. the question is how much should grades matter? facebook.com/carolcnn. or tweet me at carolcnn. michelle obama teams up with quarterbacks like colin kaepernick. wait until you hear about the picture the 49ers quarterback took with the first lady. y frie♪ ♪ my friends, they do surround me ♪ ♪ i hope this never ends ♪ and we'll be the best of friends ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing the reimagined 2013 chevrolet traverse. all set? all set. with spacious seating for up to eight. imagine that. chevrolet. find new roads.

all-star assist in her push to get school kids more physically active. serena williams and gabby douglas teamed up with an event in chicago with the first lady. >> the first lady of the united states of america, michelle obama. >> reporter: michelle obama set off flash blubs this week once again and drawing some of the country's top athletes and a $50 million donation from nike as she rallied to get school kids fully activity. >> my brother craig and i had countless opportunities to be activity every single day. we plays freeze tag on the playground before school. i jumped double dutch, still can, during recess. >> we need to get the kids across the nation to understand request if we want our children

tor active we have to help them. >> reporter: according to the cdc only 4% of elementary schools and 2% of high schools offer detail physical education classes. >> definitely shocking and almost upsetting, i would say, because, you know, growing up, i grew up in l.a. and there was p.e. it's what we had. it was a relief. we get out, we have fun. those numbers are really, i think, a crisis. >> it's a problem these days when kids don't stay active so everyone comes together, the athletes, the first lady. she is an amazing woman. she is pretty, she is smart. so doing this event with the first lady is definitely incredible. >> reporter: 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick is known more for his signature move of kissing the at that titattoos o biceps after making a touchdown. when he got the first lady in the green room to try kaepernick'ing hearses arself.

>> i got to kaepernick'ing with the first lady. she is workout warrior. that might be my highlight for the year right now. >> reporter: reporting for cnn from chicago, i'm rachel nichols. >> i will be going to spring training. it's part of my vacation but i will be working. tiger town is in lakeland, florida. i'll be interviewing justin verlander and prince fielder and send you fabulous pictures of my spring training experience with those two great baseball players so join us next week with a sneak peek at spring training. oh, my. he is back! mitt romney is giving his first tv interview since he lost the election. he says it was a roller coaster ride, but ride is not over yet.

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good morning. thank you for being with me. i'm carol costello. 30 minutes past the hour. stories we are watching right now in the newsroom. the forced spending cuts. the deadline can could weigh on wall street today. stock futures pointing to a lower open after the dow posted two straight days of triple digit gains. and came within striking distance of its all-time closing record. in just a half an hour, president obama will sit down with the leaders of both the house and senate. they will talk about those forced spending cuts which will take effect at the end of the day. cnn will have team coverage starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the pope's apartment.

his home inside vatican city now officially closed. the traditional vatican seal covers the apartment along with the elevator used to reach it. tradition says the seal will not be broken until a new pope is chosen. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three topics and 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us is maria cardona and former chairman of the south carolina republican party. welcome to you both. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. >> good morning. i know, happy, happy friday! >> happy sequester day. >> i'm going to celebrate at 11:59:59. not! >> right. in 30 minutes president obama will sit down with top congressional leaders to, i don't know, negotiate the $85 billion in forced spending cuts and those cuts will impact almost everything from the military to medicare to

education and food inspection and homeland security. the president has until 11:59:59 to sign the order. i'm asking for predictions. will he put the pen to paper? >> given nothing will change it because congress isn't in town. i do think these cuts are going to go into effect unfortunately. i think today, after a little beer drinking i think they will get down to real negotiations, carol, in terms of how to avoid the long-term pain that will be inflicted on middle class americans and those most vulnerable if these cuts are allowed to continue to happen. it needs to be a balanced approach and speaking boehner needs to understand that the american people agree with how this president wants to do it. >> katon? >> it's about time that we address the federal deficit. the budget this year is even larger than it was last year. i think republicans are back

spoke responsibly. certainly neither side wanted to get to this. the day has come they will have cookies and cake at the white house and shake hands and do pli political posturing. at the end of the day the president will do nothing tonight and what he hasn't done in the past. i think for conservatives finally the first step towards reducing the federal deficit something 84% of the americans have as a concern in their top five numbers. >> all right. second question. we saw mitt romney and his wife ann almost every day for months and months during the campaign. after governor romney made his concession speech he quickly faded from view and rarely speaking out. well, the romney's are back and doing their first televised interview for fox news. >> and it was really quite a lot of energy and a lot of passion and a lot of people around us and, all of a sudden, there was nothing. but the good news is, fortunately, we like each other. >> it's different.

but it's like riding on a roller coaster. we were on a roller coaster. exciting and thrilling and ups and downs but the ride ends and you get off. it's not like can't we be on a roller coaster the rest of our lives? no, the ride is over. >> we know mr. romney is going to speak at cpac in a few weeks, but what role, if any, do you think romney should play in the republican party? katon? >> well, first, they are a very nice family and well-respected people. i think romney can choose rolling the republican party what he wants. we, as republicans, have to move past that last election for the reason there are winners and losers and we lost. as a party i think we will go to his wisdom and guidance on the economic matters but i think the governor will choose his place in history. i applaud the last nine years of his activism in the republican party. he is a friend and wonderful family and thank him for his

service but we move on to quickly repair the damage. >> but good-bye, you're saying. he put that so charmingly, didn't he, maria? >> he sure did. good for you, katon. unfortunately, i think that is where most republicans are. i don't think they want mitt romney to play any sort of role, small or large, in the republican party because of the loss that katon talked about. i certainly don't think they will put him in charge of any message development any time soon. they won't put him in charge of any latino outreach any time soon. i think he should do what he does best is make millions of dollars and maybe he could do that for the republican party is continue to raise money. he was certainly good at that. i think most republicans want to run as far away from him as possible. his own son said he really didn't want to be president. >> on to the third and final question. two and a half hours, governor rick snyder of michigan is set to announce a state takeover of the city of detroit and the governor will appoint an manager

financial manager, someone who can slash city jobs and services. it will probably mean bankruptcy for the city of detroit which would be the largest of its kind in u.s. history. after all this, should the federal government bail out detroit like it did new york city back in the 1970s? maria? >> well, i say why not? i mean, why should detroit not be a city that the federal government comes to the rescue just like new york city was? but i would propose something dig different. why don't we ask all of the banks that you and i and katon rescued in 2008 during the financial crisis, why don't we ask them to put some money on the table to come and rescue detroit? >> interesting. don't think that is going to happen, though. katon? >> carol, another example, let me give kudos to the republican governor snyder who has come in and do the responsible thing. do i trust the federal government to help anybody back home do anything right now?

probably not. look at what is happening today. so detroit, it went from 2.8 million people in the late '60s to 500,000 people right now. it's caused its problem by bad political policies and so, right now, the governor has done the right thing. no, the federal government should not do anything in new york -- i mean, detroit. excuse me. >> i got what you meant. >> thank you both for joining us. >> thanks, carol. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. joan rivers is known for her body humor but some are saying she went way too far after making a joke about the holocaust when she was talking to german supermodel heidi klum on the red carpet. now joan is responding to her critics. ♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken.

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viewing party on sunday. joan rivers agreed but her compliment has the red hot comedienne under fire. >> german ever look this hot is when they were pushing jews into the ovens! >> "showbiz tonight" a.j. hammer is following this story. i know you talked with joan. what did she say? >> she is completely

unapologetic and last night she was upset how upset people have gotten over this but she has her rational and here is what she told me why people should be okay with it. all right. got to ask you about the controversy. >> of course. >> that has been going on. you're very well aware of it of a joke you told on fashion police talking about heidi klum's very revealing dress at the oscars and your reference made with reference to the holocaust. some say your joke was offensive. how do you respond to that? >> >> it's a joke, number one. number two it's about the holocaust. it's the way i remind people about the holocaust. i do it through humor. my husband lost his entire family in the ohio holocaust so let's just start with that. so people, your general radiation even know what i'm talking about. by my doing a joke gets them talking.

it didn't bother heidi and didn't bother me. >> people say you should apologize. >> for what? why don't you worry about mel gibson and not pick somebody who doesn't have a single living relative? >> any subject too serious you wouldn't be joking about? >> you make people laugh. you're done with it. >> it's joan being joan. she has been through this before in the 50 plus years she has been telling jokes and i would have to say there is very little doubt she will go through it again. >> she was on the verge of tears, wasn't she? >> she really was moved by the fact that she had to sit here and rationalize it. i haven't talked to anybody who laughed at the joke and thought it was funny but thshe has done through this before. she sits here and explains and emotionally i think because she

was touched by the holocaust why she thinks it's okay. >> a.j. hammer, thanks. for the latest entertainment headlines watch a.j. tonight on "showbiz tonight" on hln. let's see what you got. rv -- covered. why would you pay for a hotel? i never do. motorcycles -- check. atv. i ride those. do you? no. boat. house. hello, dear. hello. hello. oh! check it -- [ loud r&b on car radio ]

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this is cnn breaking news. we told you at the top of the hour about a terrible story out of brandon, florida, near tampa. a sinkhole opened up in his bedroom and it sucked him in. he is presumed dead. he was 37-year-old man and he was sleeping in his bed when the sinkhole opened up and swallowed him. hi hillsborough officials are having a news conference. >> we are here to talk about a situation that is evolving and continues it to evolve. first of all, let me say our hearts go out to the bush family during this terrible time when they are dealing with a lot of

questions and a lot of unknowns and i'm going to help you try and understand what we saw last night and then we will answer any questions that you have. after 11:00 last night, the family, the bush family was in the house behind us. they heard a sound that they described as a car crash coming from the bedroom in the back of the house. they rushed in. all they could see was part of a mattress sticking out of the hole, essentially the floor of that room had opened up. they could hear the nephew in the hole but they could not see him. his brorng jumped in -- his brother jumped in to try to extricate him out. the sheriff's office who was first on the seen went in and exte

extricated him. then our personnel arrived on the scene to assess the information and help the other family members out of the house and secure the house and begin to attempt to rescue mr. bush. we placed some of our urban search and rescue equipment that is specialized for this type of emergency, some listening devices that are designed to hear essentially the sound a mouse would make walking across the floor, they are that sensitive. they did not detect any signs of life. they did insert some cameras into the hole as well to try to locate him. while this was going on, there continued to be collapses of the earth below the floor to the point where they eventually had to back out of the house. our structural engineer that is on call bus, bracken engineering, they began to assess the structural stability of the structure and determined that the whole floor where our

personnel was was undermined. essentially the floor is undermined. our personnel and sheriff's office began to evacuate the surrounding homes to make sure this wasn't a bigger emergency than it already was. our crews have continued in their efforts to try and locate mr. bush. we have brought in additional sophisticated equipment this morning to try to help us determine the structure's stability, what our efforts can be to try and locate him safely without endangering more personnel. as i said, this is a multiagency event. hillsborough county sheriff's office has been a key player from the beginning, including, as i said, rescuing the nephew, and the hillsborough county code enforcement has been here helping us to secure and make sure that no other homes are involved, bracken engineering is

involved, and that's where we are right now. i failed to identify myself. i'm the hillsborough county fire chief brian rogers. >> we are going to hop out of this. 37-year-old jeff bush is the man he is talking about, the man who was sleeping in his bed when the giant sinkhole opened up. as you heard, ron rogers say from the hillsborough county fire and rescue that 37-year-old jeff bush is presumed dead. everybody else in that house got out safely. we will have much more on this story in the hours to come on cnn. we will be right back. ke it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking.

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talk back question today, does grade point average matter? high school? you know it applies to getting into college. from alex, as a current student i can tell you your gpa doesn't reflect how much you know, just how well you can test.

from tom, it does matter to strive for the highest possible score. i graduated with a 3.7 and it made a difference in my life and job. and from jose, grades represent years of work. they're much more reliable than a test taken on a weekend. from rosemary, if they reflect true rcperformance, that's good. you can set goals that help become proceed dukd differendup. keep the conversation going. in college basketball, when the final buzzer sounds, nothing says upset like fans storming the court. but coach k is getting a little tired of if. carlos has all the details. >> duke shouldn't have had to deal with the fans last night because they shouldn't have had a problem beating virginia last night. they came in unranked but they had an amazing evening with joe harris having a career night. there's the fans storming the court and coach k not so happy.

>> congratulations to them and they should have fun and burn benches and do all the stuff that they -- i'm all for that. they have a great school, great kids. but get us off the court. that's bottom line. >> pour some sugar on this baseball jerseys because they are sweet. it's the new special unis that will debut during the ncaa tournament. it makes them look like they're from the '80s. remember the mc hammer days? so they're great for, i don't know, basketball hoops lovely extravaganza or wham concert. i'd like to tell you we're going to the golf course, but we're actually going to the pond. tiger woods had to take off his shoes and socks and put on his weather pants all to hit a ball out of the water at the honda classic. there's no way he -- yes, he does. he saves par on the hole.

not a bad effort by tiger. he did have to towel off afterwards. and the nba champs are doing the harlem shake. i'm sick of this song, but after watching this performance, i think i'm all about it again. take away the bird man. ♪ that is lebron james in the king james outfit. dwyane wade in the kanye west bear head. my favorite, look to the left, see the horse head? that's shane battier. duke grad shane battier, loving that. for more reaction to the fans storming the court in virginia's upset win over duke, logon to bleacherreport.com. >> i wish i could match that, but i can't. that was really great. but i do have myself as a bobblehead. >> really? >> yeah. because i'm going to tiger town

next week. i know you're jealous. >> i am jealous. >> of course this is where the tigers have spring training. i'll be taking in a few games, sending you back interesting pictures and interviewing some of the greats like -- well, that's not justin verlander. that would be great if i could get him, right? but i will be sitting down with justin verlander and big old prince fielder. and i can't wait. sbl what is the over/under on how many hot dogs you can put down? >> i think i could pack away 12. how about you? >> i'm suddenly impressed and not going to lie to you, a little turned on. >> i'll take it. next hour cnn news room starts after a quick break. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car because this is where it came from. price is right no problem, they make you feel like you're a family.

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[ male announcer ] call today to get adt installed starting at just $99. hurry. this sale ends march 9th. adt. always there. happening now -- >> are you on your way home? i assume you're going home to this morning. going to the airport? okay. bye. >> skipping town. as america faces a midnight dead line, lawmakers run for the experts. also breaking overnight. fires in california. >> burning in the santa ana river, a 10 acre blaze quickly spread to 50 arks. >> evacuation orders, riverside on edge this morning. plus saving detroit. >> you call the police now, you wonder about they're coming.

>> michigan takes over the motor city, an emergency manager to fix what the city cannot. >> he or she could fire everybody quite frankly. >> we're live in the newsroom. good morning. thank you so much for being with me, i'm carol costello. let's head right to the white house because congressional leaders are now arriving to meet with president obama. i know that's not a very good pick, but they're there. those congressional leaders searching for a way to stave off tonight's forced spending cuts. at least that's the hope. this is the reality, though. only lawmakers have the power to overt the cut and they fled washington for a long weekend. that's what you're looking at now. isn't this the washington gridlock that did disgusts so many americans? we're covering all the angles for you. disgusts so many

americans? we're covering all the angles for you. disgusts so many americans? we're covering all the angles for you.disgusts so many americans? we're covering all the angles for you. let's begin in the shadow of this hour's meeting with chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. she's there. so congressional leaders have arrived. they will chat with the president. is anything going to happen? >> well, anything is possible, but i wouldn't bet your house on it, this is really a photo-op for all the leaders to say that they tried to get something done. they at least sat and talked before the midnight hour. what's going to happen tonight is before 11:59 p.m., the president is going to have to sign an order initiating these cuts. the office of management and budget which runs this budget, all these cuts, said something that looks like this, i don't know if you can see this, but it's a huge long document all the way up to capitol hill explaining which cuts will go broadly in which agencies. will was one that was sent last

year, very long. and then the agencies have to ghin trimming their accounts. it rolls out very gladly, though, and the president has himself even said that this is now sort of a slide rather than for example a government shutdown. so you're not going to feel the effects instantly and politically that could be a problem for the democrats because for them, it's going to be hard to make people at home really experience the feeling of this and understand just how much of an impact it could have on the economy to make the case this should go away. >> now let's head over to capitol hill and dana bash. i have to say i loved your story with the congress al lecongress leaders litt eerally fleeing washington. what did they tell you as they left? >> lots of lawmakers said different things. first of all, there are a number of republicans who said that they were leaving and they

weren't that upset about keeping these forced spending cuts in place. making the argument that it's just 2% of the budget, that a lot of people back in their districts have had to do the same in their own family budgets, businesses. other members said that they would love to stay and try to find a solution, but of course i know will this will shock you, carol, they blame the other party for not coming toureds them to be a partner in finding a solution. and when you talk to democrats on the house side, they said it was the republicans who run the house, they chose to leave, what are they going to do but let's just give a little bit of a reality check here. did democrats run the senate and they left just a few hours after the house did. they took a couple of political show votes nobody thought would pass to alleviate the cuts and of course they didn't. >> we just saw the vice president enter the white house. i don't know if republicans have arrived yet, but we do know two democratic congressional leaders have arrived. so i guess we'll wait to seat pretty pictures.

dana bash reporting live from capitol hill. so blame and bluster and brinksmanship, killer bees are alive and well in washington. here to pull back the curtain on the behind the scenes maneuvering is john king. so 11:59:59 is i guess the very last moment that president obama could put pen to paper and sign these forced spending cuts into law. i guess we're pretty certain that's going to happen, right? >> yes. you say pull back the curtain on the behind the scenes maneuvering. unfortunately there's nobody there because there is no behind the scenes maneuvering. the meeting at the white house is not open to the press. it would be nice if maybe we could hear all of the democrat, republicans and the president explain how we got to this point. why are we having this meeting just hours before the cuts take place? why was the president out traveling the country instead of having the meeting on monday?

the republicans are passing their plans in the house, democrats have their ideas in the senate. why can't those guys get together and try to figure out if they can do something in congress? so thises has been all politics and no leadership has been the story of this week. and this local thing came about because of an effort to reduce the budget deficit. the reason they can't have a big plan to do that and they keep having these mini criseses is because of the trust deficit. the people around the table didn't trust you've other. >> john king, thanks so much. last hour in the newsroom we heard from the republican party on the decision by many lawmakers to head home as that deadline looms. this hour we put the question to a democrat. debbie wasserman schultz is florida congresswoman and joins us from tampa. good morning. >> thank you, carol, good morning. >> so you're one of the lawmakers that decided to flee washington. why? >> no, i am not. i'm a member of democrat being caucus and we don't control the

house of representatives and when we are or are not the in session. in fact, democrats have repeatedly insisted that we stay in washington. the last place i should be right now is florida. we should be in washington sitting down at the table working together to hammer out a compromise so that we take a bald approach to replacing the sequester cuts which no one should believe are if not going to have an impact. i just had a representative of meals on wheels from my district in my office in washington this week who said that on monday, they are cutting the seniors that they deliver meals to back by one meal a day because of the sequester cuts. >> let me ask you this, another question about 46-this is john boehner, we see the house speaker he going into the white house to meet with therd. we understand harry reid is also there and also nancy pelosi, we saw joe biden go in. and of course they'll chat with the president. but no one expects very much to happen. so i just want to ask you again, and i know the rules and all that stuff. but if lawmakers had stayed in

washington and pulled together and maybe forced the issue just in an earth at pr, wouldn't it have been better if lawmakers had stayed in washington? >> yes, absolutely. 100%. and did democrats have been willing to stay in washington for weeks. why did we take a ten day vacation? why were we if recess for ten days just the week before this one when we could have been in washington sitting down and hammering out -- look, negotiations are hard. but if you're not actually together, it is very difficult for them to hatch. it is entirely within congress' control. we don't need the president to solve this problem actually. it's entirely within the congress' control to sit down and come together, pass compromised renlg lags and accepted it to the president. this meeting came is an opportunity for the president to bring us together one last time because the republican leadership is refusing to actually come together with the democratic leadership to try to work this out. >> the president hasn't exactly

reached out either. both sides are deeply entrenched. so they'll sit in the white house and people will look at everybody, a great photo-op, but nothing will happen and the american people frankly most aren't even paying attention to this because they already know that nothing will get done. >> well, it's unfortunate that we have one side who has been willing to sit down, who understands that it can't be my way or the highway. look, carol, a year and a half ago when we had the debt ceiling deal in the summer of 2011, democrats like me voted for $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. in cuts only. because we knew we couldn't jeopardize the full faith and credit of the united states. and republicans refused to come to the table and put aside their insistence on a cuts only approach. we know if take you a cuts only approach, dramatic across the board cuts, it is going to haven

impact on the economy. the cbo, congressional budget office, has said that about 750,000 jobs at the least are going to be lost if you feel the full impact of the sequester cuts. it doesn't have to be this way. we each need to put aside our sacred cows, come to the table and work together. democrats know it can't be cuts only. republicans need to know -- we know it can't be revenue only. republicans need to know it can't be cuts only. very simple. >> congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. we want to take you to an event happening now live. this is a private cargo ship heading toward the international space station. spacex will launch the new dragon ship in 36 seconds. and it should arrive at the international space station. and it should do that tomorrow. it has -- it actually include as surprise for the crew up there and i think they'll have some new music. it also includes a lot of needed supplies for the astronauts on board of international space

station. of course this is how that is a a is fueling the international space station, hiring this private company. so let's listen. >> t minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. and liftoff of the falcon 9 rocket and dragon. spacex continues america's mission to resupply the international space station from u.s. soil.

falcon 9 just passing through maximum dynamic pressure.

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a florida man is presumed dead after being swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up under his bedroom. monitoring equipment found no signs of jeff bush alive in the 100-foot deep hole which is still growing inside that house. area not safe right now. neighboring homes have been evacuated. when the sinkhole began last night, the victim's brother tried to save him but failed. >> heard a loud crash like a car coming through the house. and i heard my brother screaming. so i ran back there and tried going inside his room, but all i seen was this real big hole and all i seen was his mattress and basically that was it. that's all i seen. >> you tried jumping in after him? >> yes, i jumped in the hole and was trying to dig him out.

i couldn't find him. i thought i could hear him hollering for me to help him. >> and that's the last you saw of him. did you see any last part of him before you -- >> i didn't see any part of him when i went in there. all i seen was his bed. and i told my brother-in-law to grab a shovel so i could start digging. and i started digging and digging and the cops showed up and pulled me out of the hole and told me the floor is still falling in. >> so you were still at risk, as well. and now your entire family is out here. why are you out here in support? >> just to get closure, i guess, make sure he's not dead, see if he's alive. i know in my heart he's dead, but i just want to be here for him because i love him. he's my brother, man. >> sinkholes are common in floor where much of the state sits on

top of limestone. this 1981 sinkhole in winter park was 320-feet wide and 90-feet deep. it swallowed a car dealership, public pool and two story home. other stories we're covering this friday morning at 17 past the hour, this is what it looks like near riverside, california where 150 acres of brush have already burned. voluntary evacuations now in place. so far one structure has been damaged. no injuries reported. the cause still under investigation. deny this rod man expected to leave north korea later today, but the former nba star did take time out to enjoy a little basketball with nonen other than kim jong-un. the two sat together court side during a harlem globe trotters game, at one point rodman told kim jong-un you have a friend for life. it's hardly what you'd call a golden parachute. fired groupon ceo andrew mason is leaving the company he

foundeded with a check for just $378.36. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. far from a golden parachute. >> definitely not a golden parachute. who are like a lead balloon. but this was all part of andrew mason's contract. the company is obligated to pay out half of his salary, and guess what, he cut his own salary to $756.72 after groupon went public in 2011. divide that by two, that's $378.36. nice severance. but before you cry any tears for him, he'll be okay. he also gets to keep his 47 million shares of groupon and even though the stock has been taking quite a beating, down 80% since it went public, it's still worth over $200 million. and i know what you're thinking. why would he cut his salary like that? it is common especially if you're in the tech industry for these ceos to drop their salary down to $1. facebook's mark zuckerberg did

it, hp's meg whitman, all in the one buck club. mason, though, as always been quirky. i want to show you some of his memo to his employees yesterday. he said, "i've decided that i'd like to spend more time with my family. just kidding. i was fired today. if you're wondering why, you haven't been paying attention." and yeah, very funny. he goes on to say he's okay with having failed as part of the journey, though no word yet on what the significance is of that $756.72 salary or if there's any significant at all to that number. just an interesting number he came to. >> interesting guy. and refreshingly honest, right? >> yes. i love his honesty in that letter. >> alison kosik, thanks so much. talk back question for you today, what will you be doing at 11:59:59? when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart.

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today, what will you be doing at

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, what will you be doing at 11:59:59? oh, yes. at 11:59:59, we will usher in sequestration. that's when the meat cleaver likely comes down on the federal

budget to the tune of $85 billion. confetti, champagne, depression, prayer? >> as we anticipate an across the board set of budget cuts becoming law in our land, we still expect to see your goodness prevail. rise up, o god, and save us from ourselves. >> we know who won't be saving us, congress. lawmakers got the held owing l dodge without any real debate. cbo says the economy is likely to slow. in florida, the national guard will be slashed 1,000 jobs could be affected in st. augustine alone. indianapolis canceled its annual

air show. in southern california, 11 air traffic control towers could close. now, could i go on, but like you, i have forced budget cut sequestration fatigue. what more can i say? at chaplain black prayed on the center floor, o god, save us from ourselves. talk back question, what will you be doing at 116789 ch 16711? like many american families, the city of detroit has been struggling and like many family, the city of detroit needs help. residents will find out if the state of michigan will take over their city. ♪

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good morning. thank you so much for joining me. checking our top stories, at just about 3 past the hour, right now republican and democratic leaders in congress are behind closed doors at the white house. president obama summoning them for an 11th hour meeting just before this much talked about forced spending cuts kick in. and wi understand the meeting has begun. it officially began at 10:18 eastern time. in vatican city, the pope's department now officially closed. the traditional seal covers the former home along with the elevator used to reach it. the seal will not be broken until a new pope is chosen. why not motors thinking fre green. bloomberg news reports gm will increase production of the volt green. bloomberg news reports gm will increase production of the volt. by 20% this year. the she wicadillac elr could al boost profits with its higher

sticker price. governor of michigan will soon announce detroit is in a financial emergency and that means the state is one step closer to the state taking over the city's finances. detroit as you well know has fallen on hard times. it's at least $14 billion in debt according to a state report. and residents are simply fleeing. detroit has lost 25% of its population in just a decade. what about crime? last year detroit was one of the deadliest -- had one of the deadliest years in decades with more than 400 people the victim of homicide. cnn's poppy harlow has followed the sad story. she joins us live. >> reporter: this announcement expected in about an hour and a half that michigan's republican governor rick snyder will say that he agrees that detroit is in a financial emergency, its eye critical because i'm told by a source close to the governor that means he will install an emergency manager in detroit. that person will have sweeping powers within the city to

override the mayor of detroit, to override the city council, to break union contracts, throw them out if needed, to lay off more government workers if needed. whatever is needed to get this city back on sound financial footing. now, the city of detroit has ten days from today to appeal the governor's decision, but unless something significant changes his mind, i'm told, he will go ahead and install this emergency manager. so we went to detroit this week, carol, to see for ourselves what the people there think. just two years ago, forbes called detroit the city of hope. today it tops the forbes list of most miserable cities in america. >> you call the police now, you wonder if they're coming. >> reporter: it's a tale of two detroits. a city on the hook for more than $14 billion in unfunded pensions and health care costs if retired government workers. >> most of us are facing legacy

costs that we can't afford. they were cut in the good old days when the tax revenues were up. we didn't have overseas competition. we could sell all the cars we could make. that day is gone. >> reporter: and get this. the detroit news found nearly half of detroit homeowners didn't even pay their property taxes last year. there have been hundreds of millions in spending cuts and thousands of government layoffs. but it's not enough. now it's in the hands of michigan's governor. any day he could install an emergency manager in detroit with sweeping powers. >> he could void all of their contracts. he or she could fire everybody quite frankly. >> reporter: joe harris was detroit's auditor for ten years. an emergency manager has the right to basically throw out or rewrite union contracts, we'd likely see government job cuts? wouldn't real people feel this? >> it doesn't affect the average person, it affects the government workers, the politicians, but it does not hfr- >> union workers?

>> union workers. >> though ase are real people. >> reporter: real people like taneshia flowers, a mother of eight and government worker. she fears losing her job if more cuts come, but knows something has to change. >> at what point do someone does something in a will make a difference. if doesn't matter if it's the emergency manager or god. >> reporter: the rescue could also come from the private sector. >> what will ultimately be looked back at i believe for decades will be the story of the greatest american turn around story in our country's history. >> reporter: you think so. >> absolutely. >> reporter: josh's company has invested $15 million in tech start ups here. and he's part of a group that recently bought 15 entire buildings downtown. >> we're sort of like the rocky balboa of cities. >> reporter: and so what are detroit's other options? there is bankruptcy which would shed debt but also cost the city millions in legal fees and bring

that dreaded stigma -- >> i don't even like mentioning the b word. >> reporter: or what about even a federal bailout like new york city got in the '70s? but that was then. >> i think it's pretty radical. i think it's nonsensable. >> i believe if anybody needed to be bailed out, it would be the city of detroit. >> reporter: and carol, you've been talking about this on your show for weeks, a bailout? good luck getting that through congress in this political environment. as for a bankruptcy, if that happens, it would be the single largest bankruptcy for municipality in american history. the governor has said recently he does not want to see a bankruptcy. of course the state would first try to have some sort of settlement with creditors. the mayor doesn't want a bankruptcy. but i think that at this point down the road, that's in the cards unless things really change for detroit. >> if bankruptcy is declared, eith it's hard to wrap your mind around what that might mean. does it mean detroit crumbles

and dies somewh? what does it mean? >> it happened in vallejo, california because of the housing crisis. it means a lot of the debt is for given just like a bankruptcy for general motors, for example, and then you rebuild. but it makes it extremely hard for the city to borrow money in the future. it makes it expensive for the city to borrow money. and frankly, what does it do to the reputation of detroit? what you need in detroit is people to come back and people to pay taxes. >> you declare bankruptcy, more residents will flee. they don't have a tax base already. >> right. and that's why they don't want to do it. so we'll see what happens. but i think this emergency manager is almost definitely happening and we'll know for sure i'd say in about 11 days. >> all right. thank you, poppy. a major step for marriage equality. the obama administration file as brief supporting same-sex marriage in california. we'll look at the case the supreme court has taken up. arr another meeting?

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in a move that could have page repercussions beyond the courts, the obama administration has filed a brief with the u.s. supreme court supporting same-sex marriage in california. later this month justices are scheduled to hear the appeal of prop 8. also two nfl players who support marriage equality also filed a brief with theist supreme court. from the vikings and ravens. joe johns is following this case. > >> reporter: the administration waited until the last minute to say whether it was taking a stand on proposition 8 which bans same-sex marriage. even while prominent republicans were jumping on the bandwagon calling on the court to rule the state's law unconstitutional.

hollywood producer and actor clint eastwood, former republican national committee chairman ken melman, and beth myers who ran mitt romney's campaign in 2008 and served as senior adviser to him in the last campaign. former arizona congressman jim colby who is gay said his position on gay marriage has changed over time. >> like others, i've evolved on it, too. there was time as i mentioned when i didn't believe that gay marriage was a possibility. and so i thought if we could have civil union or something, that would be great. when you i no longer believe that. i no longer am willing to settle for that. >> reporter: it's an important moment in the law and also in politics because the administration's position on same-sex marriage could go a long way toward defining the obama legacy. he's already made history on the issue becoming the first american president to mention it in an inaugural address. >> our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.

for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal, as well. >> reporter: the president's views have evolved and he himself has said he struggled with the gay marriage issue. this is what he said in 2004. >> i believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. but i also detest the sort of bashing and vilifying of gays and lesbians because i think it's unduly divisive. >> reporter: in 2008 running for president, he refined his view. >> i did not support gay marriage, but i support a very strong version of civil unions. >> reporter: may of last year was the first time he took the step of supporting it. >> for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get

married. >> joe johns joins us from washington. so, joe, what would the court's ruling mean for the rest of the country? >> well, the court can say whatever it wants, but the speculation is that since we have an argument here that california is one of eight states that gives gay couple all the benefits of marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, that they're all in the same boat. we're talking about delaware, hawaii, illinois, nevada, new jersey, oregon and rhode island. administration's basically saying that if a state confers all the rights of marriage, it's already agreeing that gay relationships and straight relations ships deserve the same treatment. >> joe johns reporting live from washington this morning. our talk back question for you today, what will you be doing at 11:59:59? [ male announcer ] julia child became a famous chef at age 51.

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reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business. right now the president is meeting with top congressional leaders about those forced spending cuts that will impact almost everything from the military to education to food inspection to homeland security. congress, well, they failed to come up with a plan b. if there is no alternative, president obama will sign the order for the cuts to start at 11:59:59 tonight. and that is our talk back question. what will you be doing at 116 9

16716789 11:59:59 some joining us is a republican and former congressman from ohio and cnn correspondent dana bash. welcome to both of you. i want to read a few comments from our viewers. this from gail, we get what we deserve when we expect these nut jobs. as citizens, we need to correct the situation and this is my favorite from jay. i will be trying tody if the world actually did end 12/21/12 and all this is just a huge cover up. >> as a retired nut job, i'm very happy to be watching it from the outside. >> dana, let's start with you. you interviewed these lawmakers as they fled washington. they were literally running down the steps hopping in their cars and taking off to avoid you.

>> well, they were taking off to get to the airport. i was just in the way of that, which is a very dangerous place to be in washington as the former congressman knows very well. but look, what's going on here today is actually very interesting because the answer is nothing. this is one of those days that everybody shows up in jeans, they're wearing jeans, sweat shirts, maybe sweaters, because they tonight have to dress up because the senate is literally not in session. the house is literally not in session. they're not even pretending to be here. there a meeting of course as we speak at the white house, but i have to share this with you, i got an e-mail from a democratic source here late yesterday when i asked is there any chance anything can happen at that meeting. and it was ha-ha-ha and about three or four lines down the e-mail. i mean, it was just not a chance. not a chance. >> it's mind boggling that this sequestration idea was meant to force congress to do something. you were present during that time. why did not n't it work?

>> because the two sides won't give up their sacred cows. republicans have to get serious on revenue and the president has to talk about signature entitlement reform. these packages that have been put out that people said maybe this will save the day at the 11th hour, all it did was delay the pain for another month, another two months. and i think as your e-mail demonstrated, people are sick of this. hopefully at the white house right now some leadership will bubble up. maybe like with the election of the new pope, white smoke will come out of top of the white house and we'll have a deal. but they have to make the deal. >> it would be nice if they could like at the vatican to choose a new pope, they lock all the cardinals in a room and they tonight l don't let them communicate with the outside world until they come to some sort of conclusion. maybe that's what needs to happen on capitol hill. >> you joke about it, but there is actually a lot of truth to that. that is a major part of the reason that things don't get

done is because they don't know each other, they don't sit if rooms. there's outrage and there should be. this meeting that they're having as we speak is today. why didn't they have it on monday, tuesday, wednesday, never mind the week before that or the week before that. the reason is because everybody knows that the philosophical differences on this particular issue, they're not going to be bridged. and the reason is because the political pluses on both sides outweigh the desire to bridge the philosophical differences. >> so, steve, maybe this meeting at the swhous juwhite house jus it worse, and i'm saying as we voters are looking at this photo-op essentially at the wlouts and we're all thinking do they think we're stupid? >> well, i don't think that they think we're stupid. i i think they're hoping we don't pay attention and this will be like a y2k thing and just sort of go away for today. but until again -- this thing is

crying out for leadership. the president, the the speaker, harry reid, somebody has to say we can fight like cats and dogs tomorrow, but let's get this thing done, whether its eye simpson bols, we have to put this thing in place. so we can go about fighting without hurting our people. >> so leave us with some hope, steve. you were a long time member of our government. leave us with hope. will this be fixed somehow and when? >> no, probably not. but i will tell you that march the 27th, cr is the next battle. and i would hope that your viewers would now communicate with their elected official and say enough of this nonsense, just work this thing out. and i'm hopeful. i know john boehner really well. he'll make the deal if the president is a willing dance partner. but the president really has to challenge his party on the entitlements. and until that happens, this is going to be a logjam that won't be broken and people will continue to run from dana bash. >> you never did, congressman.

but if i could just ahead to that quickly, that really is a key point. march 27th. 27 days from now, that is the date that we should be looking at and likely the date they're discussing inside the white house right now. that is when funding for the government shuts down entirely, never mind $85 billion. or i should say most of the government funding shuts down. so that is likely where any deal will be focused on. and perhaps they can deal with what's going on now and then wrap it all into one big package. >> we'll be waiting. thank you so much for taking part in the conversation today.

a taking a look at our top stories. right now republican and democratic leaders in congress are behind closed doors at the white house. president obama summoning the leaders for an 11th hour meeting just before those much talked about forced spending cuts kick in. girls gone wild has gone bankrupt. the controversial video empire says it has less than $50,000 in assets with more than $16 million in debt. most of that is owed to winn las vegas who is also suing ceo joe francis. and surfers off the coast of can made today got stuck between a pod of killer whales and the sea lions they were hunting. and while killer whales aren't

known for attacking humans, it's probably wise that they got out of the way quickly because the whales were very hungry. cnn is getting answers to your questions about those forced spending cuts. questions like this one. one viewer asks whether anyone will be in the unemployment office to take his call on on monday. tom foreman will have the answer next. [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective

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the deadline for the forced spending cuts to begin. and canses are you've got as many questions about what's going to happen as we come. so today we want to get your questions answered. you can send us questions by using tom foreman's twitter page or the #ask tom cnn. tom foreman joins us now. good morning. you've taken on a big task. >> well, there are a lot of questions out there. and i don't blame people. it's a very confusing issue. our first question is from a very practical one from ron daily on on facebook. especially with some people expected to lose work because of the budget cut, he asked if i try to apply found employment benefits on monday, will anyone be there to take my call? the short answer is yes. depending who how your state handles it, probably nothing will change for at least a few weeks. but since the feds help pay for the administration of many state unemployment funds, as this moves forward, you could see staffs reduced in your state, longer wait times and one state office told me this morning they may urge people to